cindy mctee

TIMEPIECE
for wind symphony

2001
8 minutes

Premièred on February 17, 2000 under the direction of Andrew Litton, the original version of Timepiece was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for its 100th Anniversary Season. A transcription for winds was subsequently commissioned by a consortium of ensembles and premièred on February 22, 2001 with Eugene Migliaro Corporon conducting the North Texas Wind Symphony. I have dedicated this transcription to the memory of Martin Mailman (1932-2000), friend and colleague for many years at the University of North Texas, without whose encouragement I might never have transcribed an earlier work, Circuits, for wind ensemble.

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Timepiece for wind symphony

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Premièred on February 17, 2000 under the direction of Andrew Litton, the original version of Timepiece was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for its 100th Anniversary Season. A transcription for winds was subsequently commissioned by a consortium of ensembles and premièred on February 22, 2001 with Eugene Migliaro Corporon conducting the North Texas Wind Symphony. I have dedicated this transcription to the memory of Martin Mailman (1932-2000), friend and colleague for many years at the University of North Texas, without whose encouragement I might never have transcribed an earlier work, Circuits, for wind ensemble. Consortium members include:

Arizona State University – Gary W. Hill
Baylor University – Michael Haithcock
California State University, Sacramento – Robert Halseth
Central Michigan University – John Williamson
Irvine Valley College – Stephen Rochford
Michigan State University – John Whitwell
Northern Arizona University – Patricia Hoy
Northwestern University – Mallory Thompson
Sam Houston State University – Matthew McInturf
State University of New York, Fredonia – Paula Holcomb
University of California, Los Angeles – Tom Lee
University of Georgia – Dwight Satterwhite
University of Miami – Garry Green
University of Michigan – H. Robert Reynolds
University of Tennessee – Gary Sousa
University of North Texas – Eugene Migliaro Corporon
University of Washington – Tim Salzman

I entitled the work, Timepiece, not only for its connection to the celebration of special events marking the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's one hundredth anniversary and the beginning of a new millennium, but also for the manner in which musical time shapes the work. The piece begins slowly, "before" time, in a womb-like, subjective, holding place. And then a clock-like pulse emerges, takes control, and provides the driving force behind a sustained, highly energized second section of about six minutes.

Much of my recent thinking about music is informed by the writings of Carl G. Jung who, in the words of Anthony Storr, "felt that the whole energy of mental functioning" sprang from the tension between the oppositions of conscious and unconscious, of thought and feeling, of mind and body, of objectivity and subjectivity. So too have the integration and reconciliation of opposing elements become important aspects of my work. The frequent use of circular patterns, or ostinatos, offers both the possibility of suspended time and the opportunity for continuous forward movement. Carefully controlled pitch systems and thematic manipulations provide a measure of objectivity and reason, while kinetic rhythmic structures inspire bodily motion. Discipline yields to improvisation, and perhaps most importantly, humor takes its place comfortably along side the grave and earnest.

press/reviews

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Cindy McTee's "Timepiece" got the concert off to an enjoyable start. The work was written in 2000 for Litton and the Dallas Symphony on the occasion of the orchestra's centennial. In her spoken remarks, she mentioned her upbringing in jazz and that's what came through strongly in "Timepiece." Which is not to say that it is jazz but that it has that air. The flittering lines cavort like scat and the language is dissonant but in the decorative and cool way of jazz — it bites and sizzles. The brass and percussion get used a lot; dance is never far away (the woodblock keeps returning with a ticktock beat to restore order). All in all, it's one of the more successful fusions of the jazz and symphonic styles that I've heard and it could have gone on longer than it's eight minutes as far as I was concerned.